On the Run
This is the sequel to The Sign of the Shooting Star. ''Ironflame U R soooo hoss 17:50, January 22, 2012 (UTC) '' As I await the dawn, I realize with a jolt, '' ''we were not just misfits anymore. We were misfits ''On the Run. '' Prologue Help. Another one of our common words. It saves lives. Many lives. But not mine. My killer is closing in as we speak. You might not make it out alive either, stranger. Chapter One The cold wind ruffled my fur. The sun sneaked over the hillside, far beyond Unmentionable territory. I sat on a crate in the little fenced-in area that my six new friends called home. I looked at Emmett, the leader of the Unmentionables. He was sound asleep. I wondered if I should wake him up, because we were scheduled to leave a dawn. And it was dawn. I jumped off the crate. I guess I might've been loud, because Phantom woke up. He seemed like a shadow with his jet-black fur, but ghostlike with his white tuft of fur on his head. Maybe that's where he got his name. "'Morning," Phantom yawned. I mouthed, "Morning," and then padded slowly over to Emmett. I prodded him with my paw. "Huh?" he meowed. "Where's the mice?" I chuckled. He was so loud. Everyone woke up. Flo was bouncing. "Oh, we finally get to escape from this mess!" she yowled in her southern accent. Her pale gray fur was hard to see in the dim light. "Hey! Quiet down!" someone screamed. I looked at everybody else. I chuckled. "Thanks for the concern!" I yelled. "We'll be quiet!" "So are we ready to go?" Fresno asked. Emmett nodded. Jessie was pushing the crate that I was sitting on. I saw a tiny hole and wondered how Emmett could fit. But he slipped through without a sound. I was next. The metal of the fence stabbed at my ribs. I sucked in all the breath I could and squeezed through the hole. Fresno, Jessie, Flo, Ashley, and Phantom followed closely behind. Forest scents overwhelmed me. I remembered the pine leaves from my old trash can. I yearned to live that life just one more time. I pushed the thought away; my real place was here with the Unmentionables. I saw miles and miles of trees and bushes and grass and flowers. I could smell the divining fragrence of pine. The vunurable scents of mouse drifted from the opposite direction. No turning back now. We were on the run. Chapter Two "Where are we going, excactly?" Ashley asked. "The lake," Fresno mewed. "Hundreds of miles away. Ice would never guess that we are going there." "He'll follow our scent," Jessie complained. Suddenly, Fresno called out. "Fawn!" A cream she-cat with ice blue eyes padded to us. "Hi," she said nervously. "It's alright," Fresno soothed. Their tails winded together. "We need to get some sleep." Fawn mewed more confidently. "We have to travel by the cover of night, or else Ice will catch us." *** I awoke to the black of night. Stars twinkled at me. Stop flirting, ''I thought. As I stood up, everybody was staring at me. "We woke up thirty minutes ago!" Fresno grumbled. "We waited for you!" "Well, I got up first this morning and woke everybody up!" I argued. Ashley's eyes were worried. "Stop fighting," she meowed. "We must stick together if we are to make the journey." I padded beside Flo, keeping well away from Fresno and Fawn. Ashley stood beside Flo. I heard Fawn talking. I concentrated on her words. "Where is it?" she whispered. I glanced at the sky. A shooting star danced across the pool of bright, twinkly balls of light. "Hey look," I mewed. "A shooting star." Fawn broke into a sprint. Fresno followed. Emmett did so, then Jessie, Flo and Ashley. Phantom looked at me. His face was playful. "Race ya," he taunted. My legs exploded. Phantom's legs were no match for my longer ones. I raced past Ashley. "Ha!" I yelled. Then Fawn screamed. "Stop!" She yowled. "This is not a game! We must follow the star! Do you ever want to get there?!" I nodded. "Good. Follow the star." Chapter Three I crouched. I looked at the slowly setting sun. I had to get food for my friends. It had been a week since we left, and we hadn't hunted. I followed my nose, stopping behind a tree when I saw a perfectly fat rabbit. I unsheathed my claws. I leaped at my unsuspecting prey. I snapped its neck with my paw. Mission accomplished. *** "Thanks for the rabbit, Scarlet." Ashley mewed. "Thanks," everyone else meowed. Phantom looked at me. "Hey, Scarlet?" He asked. "How did you get your name?" It all came crashing down on me. I hadn't thought about The Massacre in several moons. "Well," I started, my voice shaky. "The day I was born, The Massacre happened." "The revolution of Resisters attacked The Force. My father was one of them. Just from the first day, blood ran down the streets. One day, I fell in the street. My pelt was covered in blood. So Sun, my ma, called me Scarlet, because of the color of the blood that came from family and friends that shouldn't have been spilled." "What happened to your father?" Ashley asked. I lost it. I ran, leaving my share of rabbit to rot. Tears flew down my face. '(Okay, no, I don't think cats can cry.) 'I found a large tree and climbed up. My sobs were the only thing I could hear. I lied down on a branch and cried into my fur. I heard scratching. Who cares if a badger comes and kills me? I just want to be with my dad. "It's alright," I heard a voice soothe. The cat laid beside me. I opened my eyes. I saw gray. ''Emmett, ''I thought. Emmett licked my cheek. "My mother is dead, if that helps." I still cried. He started humming a beautiful song. It was like the heavens of StarClan opened up to me and sang. My tears faded. I lifted me head up and purred. "Oh, Emmett," I whispered. Chapter Four Me, Ashley, Jessie, and Flo were standing beside each other as Emmett and Fresno whispered to each other. Fresno was supposed to announce something. I stared at Emmett with affection. He glanced and looked confused. Then he went right back to talking. "So," Ashley whispered to me. "You've got a crush on Emmett?" I nodded, my face hot. "Why?" She asked. "The night I had a meltdown he comforted me." I explained. "No wonder," She muttered. Fresno started talking. "There has been betrayal among us." Flo and I gasped. Ashley said nothing. "Fawn has been kidnapped by Ice and his followers." I thought of Bruno, Draco, and Fang. I hated Fang. Jessie looked at Ashley. I looked too. Her face was expressionless, maybe even a little smirk on her face. Had ''she ''told Ice where we were? I realized that I can't trust anyone anymore. Not even Emmett. Chapter Five I awoke to a paw prodding me. I rolled over and said, "Stop, Jessie, I don't want to go hunting with you." The paw prodded me again. I jumped to my paws and fluffed my fur up. It was Fawn! "Come," She said. I walked far away from my friends. We were in a forest of pine. "I don't have much time," Fawn whispered. "It was Ashley." I gasped. I knew it. "Ice told me everything. He starved me and tortured me. What did I do to deserve this?" She yelled at the sky. "I escaped from him. Don't tell anyone I was here. They will tell Ice." *** It was daylight. I was itching to tell Jessie, Flo, or ''someone that it was Ashley. Even talking to Ashley would be fine. "Everyone!" Emmett yelled. "We must gather!" Me and Jessie sat beside each other. Fresno and Emmett waited for everyone to quiet down. Phantom sat quietly. "The traitor," Fresno said. "Is Ashley."